2-20 FAR executes Level II DRE

FORT SILL, Okla. – The 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment (2-20 FAR) conducted Level II Deployment Readiness Exercise (DRE) at the Henry Post Army Airfield at Fort Sill October 31, 2025. The routine exercise validated the battalion’s deployment readiness as they certified air load operations, lead plans, and accountability of personnel and equipment.

“It’s an opportunity for us as the Battalion Commander and the Battalion Command Sergeant Major to validate our systems and processes to ensure the training that our personnel have done allows us to […] deploy anywhere in the world,” said Lt. Col. Adam Kirschling, the 2-20 FAR Commander.

DREs assess the unit’s deployment support capabilities and are typically conducted unannounced or with limited notice for the assessed unit, with unit’s typically expected to be fully prepared to deploy within 96 hours of alert. Level I DREs evaluate the unit’s ability to alert, assemble, and conducted Soldier readiness tasks and validate the unit’s deployment certifications, orders generating process, standard operating procedures, and system documentation. Level II DREs include all Level I tasks, with the added tasks of physically loading containers and equipment to appropriate modes of transportation and execution of local and/or internal area movements, among others.

The day started at 3 a.m., with an alert notification to every Soldier in the battalion informing them of the DRE and ordering them to report to the battalion headquarters. At 5 a.m., the Soldiers were standing in formation as their battery leadership took roll call, ensuring 100% personnel accountability. Following accountability formation, 2-20 FAR initiated a systematic process to issue equipment and prepare their Soldiers to deploy. Leaders conducted line-by-line layouts to ensure their Soldiers had all the required gear and personal equipment; the battalion quickly issued weapons and tactical equipment from their armories, ensuring positive accountability of every piece of equipment; and Soldiers filed through the Battalion Human Resources section for manifest and personnel accountability.

Upon completion of manifest and equipment issue operations, the battalion quickly transitioned to moving vehicles and equipment from the battalion motorpool, a designated location to store vehicles and conduct maintenance. The battalion validated their load plans, loading equipment into containers and preparing vehicles for rail load operations. At the Logistics Readiness Center (LRC), Warrant Officer 1 Gunner Azabache, the 75th Field Artillery Brigade Mobility Officer, inspected each vehicle to ensure proper documentation and maintenance status before sending them to Henry Port Army Airfield (HPAAF) for air load operations.

Airmen from the 39th and 40th Airlift Squadrons, 317th Airlift Wing based in Dyess Air Force Base in Adeline, Texas, provided air support for the DRE, capitalizing on the opportunity to train their pilots and crewman alongside 2-20 FAR’s Soldiers. In partnership with Soldiers from 2-20 FAR, they safely loaded and secured the battalion’s vehicles equipment into two C-130 aircraft.

“Joint exercises with other partners are crucial,” said Command Sgt. Maj. David Qutaishat, the 2-20 FAR Command Sergeant Major. He continued, “It’s critical for our success […] to have a realistic look at ourselves, we can identify our strengths and weaknesses and identify any we can do to improve.”

“A lot went into this. This wasn’t a morning or an overnight planned operation,” added Kirschling. The successful DRE was a result of an in depth training progression, including rail and air load operations training, and extensive cross-departmental planning and cross-organizational coordination.

2-20 FAR stand ready to deploy for any rapid response mission that requires the unit to support combatant commanders and unit capabilities across the globe.